APEC Ministerial Meeting Adopts Chengdu Statement on AI Technology

Chengdu (ANTARA) - The 2026 APEC Digital and AI Ministerial Meeting adopted a ministerial statement in which all parties agreed to jointly advance digital technology and artificial intelligence (AI) to empower the Asia-Pacific community, providing an action framework for deepening cooperation in these fields across the Asia-Pacific region in the years ahead.

The ministerial meeting, one of the important platforms for promoting exchange and cooperation in the digital, information and communication technology sector in the Asia-Pacific region, was held on Thursday (23 July) in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province, China, under the theme “Digital Technologies and AI for the Empowerment of an Asia-Pacific Community”.

Regarding the meeting’s outcomes, China’s Minister of Industry and Information Technology, Li Lecheng, who chaired the session, said the meeting emphasised accelerating the development of communication and computing infrastructure.

Li said the consensus reached — particularly the specific elaboration of efforts to promote digital and intelligent transformation of traditional industries, and to support micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in using lightweight digital tools to enhance competitiveness — has provided a people-centred development pathway tailored to each economy’s context for all economies in the Asia-Pacific region.

“China will continue to leverage APEC mechanisms, strengthen cooperation with all economies, implement the consensus reached at this meeting, and deepen exchanges and collaboration,” Li said.